


Dog

by MeganMoonlight



Series: Skyhold Café [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Adorable, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Awkward Flirting, Bethany and Carver Hawke Live, Blushing, Dogs, First Meetings, M/M, Mabari, Minor Fenris/Hawke, Modern Thedas, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-09-08 15:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8849560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeganMoonlight/pseuds/MeganMoonlight
Summary: When searching for Dog in the park, Carver found someone he did not expect to meet.





	

“Dog, come on, let’s go eat something.”

Carver stood up from where he was sitting on the ground and grabbed his messenger bag as well. He brushed off his trousers and took out Dog’s leash from the bag, waiting for the mabari to run to him.

Usually Dog appeared by his side right away, that was how he was trained, but when food was mentioned in the same sentence, the mabari’s reactions were even more enthusiastic. So, when Carver didn’t hear the familiar growl or barking, which usually signalled that Dog was near, he frowned, tightening his grip on the leash. Where had the mabari gone?

“Dog, come here!” he tried again before deciding to walk towards the fountain where he knew Dog liked to play most. He really liked playing in water.

Carver was getting really worried. Mabari were fiercely loyal and Dog very rarely ignored commands like that, so Carver, still frowning, wanted to find him as soon as he could. The mabari was big so Carver knew he would be able to take care of himself, but still, if anything had happened to him...

Fortunately, he spotted Dog right away. It was difficult not to notice the mabari’s massive body standing in the middle of the footpath, but what surprised Carver was that he was waggling his tail while looking at a man sitting on one of the benches. The stranger looked a bit lost, but he was scratching Dog’s head slowly and the mabari seemed to love it. It was honestly the first time Carver witnessed Dog, who was usually very shy, approaching someone he didn’t know, just like that. Maybe they had met before and Carver just didn’t remember it.

He decided to investigate. The guy didn’t look like he’d want to try to kidnap a grown up mabari, but still, he was looking like he had never seen one before, or something. It was weird.

Walking towards the bench, he was about to call Dog’s name again, but he stopped in his tracks as soon as he took a closer look at the man who was now scratching Dog behind one ear.

The man was _gorgeous_. Now Carver was definitely sure they had never met before, because he was more than sure that he would remember someone like that. There was a small smile on the stranger’s face and Carver couldn’t stop staring…

Then Dog started to bark, looking right at Carver, making the gorgeous guy look up as well. Carver licked his lips gently. Damn it, even his eyes were gorgeous.

After a while Carver decided that he must have looked dumb when he was just standing there, staring, so he walked up to the bench. Only when he stood face to face with the man did he notice that there were slight shadows under his eyes and he seemed to be a bit tired, but the small smile didn’t disappear from his face. Fancy clothes he was wearing didn’t fit the weather at all, making Carver wonder how he wasn’t sweating, but they looked good on him. Still, he was most likely new to the Ferelden weather.

Carver realized that he haven’t said anything and he was just ogling the guy when Dog started barking. _Way to make an arse of yourself, Carver_.

He could feel a warm tongue licking his fingers, so he looked down, patting Dog on the back, thankful for a chance to look away from the guy and think of something he could say to break the silence.

“Sorry about him,” he looked up at the gorgeous guy again. “He doesn’t usually walk up to strangers like that.”

“He seemed to be very interested in the food I bought,” was the man’s reply, confirming Carver’s suspicion that he wasn’t from Ferelden.

“He loves food. He takes after my brother a lot,” Carver continued to scratch Dog’s head gently. “Sorry again. I really hope he hadn’t been bothering you.”

“No, not at all,” the man adjusted the bag on his shoulder. “I just haven’t had a chance to spend so much time around mabari before.”

“Where are you from?” Carver asked, instantly feeling like an idiot. “If you don’t mind me asking, I mean.”

“Of course not. I’m from Tevinter,” he replied and Carver blinked, surprised, though he should have realized, judging by the fancy, showy clothes the man was wearing. “I believe I am standing out a bit, especially in this weather, aren’t I. I am visiting a friend who moved here a few months ago. I was wondering how many things from what he had been telling me were true.”

“And? How do you like it so far?”

“It is… different. But I like it,” the man glanced at Dog, who, when he realized it was him they talked about, barked twice. “What’s his name?”

“Dog.”

“Ah,” the man blinked a few times, and Carver sighed, scratching his neck. It wasn’t the first time he was explaining the mabari’s name, so he was used to it.

“We had no idea what to call him when dad had brought him home and after we kept calling him “dog” for a few days, the name stuck. We had been trying to get him to react to other names, but he’s stubborn.”

“Hello, Dog,” the man looked Dog in the eye, and the mabari barked again. There were no comments about the name, no jokes, he just scratched Dog’s head again, his tone calm and friendly.

“Shit,” Carver felt the urge to facepalm. Hard. “Sorry. I didn’t even introduce myself. I’m Carver. Carver Hawke.” He really hoped he wasn’t blushing too hard when he said that.

“Felix Alexius,” Felix shook his hand, his smile widening slightly. His fingers were warm and Carver has never seen anyone who could smile like that. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“You, too.”

Carver had no idea what else to say, and for a moment he wanted to look away, but then Dog barked, startling him. His tongue was out, he looked like he wanted to run and jump around, and Carver briefly wondered what could that mean, but in the end he just shook his head.

“Right. Sorry again. We should probably go. We took enough of your time already.” Damn it, he didn’t want to go, but what else could he say? Considering Felix’s fancy clothes he probably had some meeting to go to, or whatever, and Carver was holding him up.

“It was not a problem at all,” Felix interrupted him, still smiling. But then he frowned slightly before reaching into one coat pocket to take out his phone. “But before you go, would you mind helping me? I was going to ask someone for directions later, but...”

“No, it’s fine.” Carver didn’t mind. He didn’t mind at all. If it gave him a reason to talk to Felix some more…

“My friend was supposed to meet me at the airport, but he said there was something he needed to take care of first. I told him I would be fine, but my sense of direction is not as good as I hoped, apparently.”

“No problem,” Carver took the card Felix handed him, though as soon as he noticed the address, he snorted. Perfect. That was just perfect. “Shit. I can’t believe it. That’s hilarious.”

“Excuse me?” Felix’s brow furrowed slightly. Carver had no idea how Felix was doing it, but he looked pretty damn gorgeous even when he was frowning.

“You’re Dorian’s friend from Tevinter.”

“You... know Dorian?”

“Yeah,” Carver snorted, not quite believing in the coincidence. “Yeah, I do. He hangs out at our place a lot when he’s not working. And he complains about food so often that I wonder why he just doesn’t carry some fancy crap with him if he has a problem. Shit, sorry, I didn’t mean to...” Carver stopped talking, remembering that it was Dorian’s friend he was speaking to. Shit. _Great job, Carver._

Felix looked amused, even if he was probably doing it just to be polite. At least he seemed much more relaxed now that he knew he wasn’t lost. “Would you mind showing me the way to his place, then?”

“You might as well come with me, then. My brother, Garrett, was the one who asked Dorian for help, so I guess they’re both still at our place. I have no bloody idea what they’re doing, though. But Garrett’s boyfriend, Fenris, might be there, too, so at least they won’t blow anything up.” Dog whined a few times at the mention of Garrett.

“You won’t mind me walking with you?”

“No,” Carver smiled. _Come on, Carver. Say something._. “Um, it’s not often I get to show the city to good-looking guys.”

He glanced at the other man, worried that he said something wrong, because Felix didn’t say anything at first. Though when he saw Felix smiling shyly, he couldn’t help smiling as well. They walked in silence for a while, but then, out of the blue, Dog started barking again. Wondering what was going on, Carver wanted to pat the mabari on the back, but instead of familiar fur his hand touched warm fingers. Carver and Felix looked at each other, startled, withdrawing their hands right away, though when he saw that Felix was still smiling, Carver snorted.

“You know, I have no idea if Dog somehow recognized your smell or if it was all an accident, but... em, would you like to get some coffee with me? Or tea? Before we go to my place, I mean. Maybe. If you want.”

“Actually, Dorian works in a coffee shop,” Felix said and Carver tried not to groan. He knew that coffee shop very well. And so did all their friends. “Maybe we could go there? When he told me about that I couldn’t quite believe it, and I admit, I am curious.”

“Yeah, um, sure.”

During the two hours they spent talking, Carver found out that Felix was a genuinely nice guy. They were sitting in front of the coffee shop and Dog kept observing them from where he was lying on the ground and playing with a rock he had found on the way. 

Carver still had no idea how had the mabari managed to find Felix. He knew, however, that when Garrett and Beth find out about Dog playing a shameless matchmaker, who waggled his tail every time Carver and Felix even smiled at each other, they wouldn’t let it go. He didn’t mind, though. Seeing Felix smile at him was worth it.

**Author's Note:**

> A fill for a prompt: _"Any fandom with a dog, any rarepair + dog, the dog is a shameless matchmaker."_ ([*HERE*](http://comment-fic.livejournal.com/703549.html?thread=92872509#t92872509)).
> 
> Thanks for beta to **[lil-1337](http://lil-1337.livejournal.com/)**


End file.
